Blogger @ WordPress

Menu

The play boy of 80s and early 90s; Imran Khan was truly an inspirational figure for people of Pakistan. His charismatic look coupled with great playing ability, earned him a place in the hearts of cricket lovers of Pakistan, and why not? He is the only captain to date who brought them the first ever Cricket World cup trophy.

After Successful completion of his Cricket career Mr. Khan decided to try out his luck in Politics of Pakistan: an abusive and no go area for people of his class, nonetheless it didn’t turned out to be as successful as expected, the rule of this game was totally different from what he used to off! No third umpire and No ICC kind of body to keep a check n balance on the “screwed players”… this is politics!!! Politics of Pakistan and It requires more than just hitting a century or grabbing couple of wickets.

Till 2008 he did some blunders, supporting Pervaiz Musharaf’s referendum and lacking that “Maturity” that is required surviving in the political arena, but suddenly in 2011, the man who boycotted the 2008 election out of fear of getting a blow on the nose in terms of votes, is now appearing to be the biggest opposition of the mainstream political forces; PPP and PML-N. People of Pakistan have not witnessed such enthusiastic crowds that he is now started organizing in the name of “Change”, counting on the same slogan that brought Mr. Obama in the Office.

Early 2012 was the time he peaked in his political career with thousand of youth in his rallies and talk shows and you name it!!! But towards the end of the year and beginning of 2013 the Popularity of Tsunami khan started diminishing. No more gigantic rallies. I personally doubt such a transition can happen without “someone” first helping and then pulling their helping hand back, I mean who can ignore the Pakistani Establishment; the most famous and ever thirsty of ruling the country directly or indirectly, those who once counted on Mr. Tsunami were now extending hand towards another person Mr. Sheikh-ul-Islam aka Tahirul Qadri.

Any how the current situation is all those who really wanted to win in the upcoming elections and rule for another term are making efforts to materialize their dreams, new alliances for seat adjustment are hatching up, I mean why not?? a dirty game is played by dirty rules, but Mr. Khan on the other hand thinks that he doesn’t need any one else to ensure victory, he can just simply sweep in the upcoming election. Now I may be naive but I think you can’t just outrun PPP and PML-N straight away, they have spend years in earning solid vote bank. The next government surely will going to be another coalition, but Khan has said straight away that he will not going to sit with these corrupt politician in the parliament!!! I mean is he hoping to win 2/3 majority straightaway?? Now another fact here is that recent Senate elections has brought PPP and PML-N again to the seats, they will be there for three more years, now Pakistan being a bicameral legislation country requires both senate and parliament to agree on any law for it to become operational, hypothetically even if Khan wins 2/3 majority how will he going to coup with Senators with whom he don’t want to sit even?

My whole idea of writing is that every game is played according to its rules, Politics of Pakistan can be compared to a gutter, one wishing to clean a gutter has to go down in it, standing on the manhole and shouting on the dirt would not going to clean it, like wise you have to play politics if you really want to do something for this nation, grow from within the ranks and then bring about the change you desire, Vladimir Putin is a speaking example of it. I personally want to try a new face in politics in coming elections, so do plenty other young fellows!! But winning is just not enough, surviving is what I am talking about here and that exactly what matters, and that what he should be focusing at, time is running for him, he should better come up with a strategy for long term survival !!!!

We may disagree with each other on which party to vote in upcoming elections? Whether Justin bieber is a gay or not?? Is president Zardari the most hated person in Pakistan or is he not?? But one thing we all are damn sure about is that “Diamonds are Precious “.We all are born with some facts waiting for us in our new world to be accepted as they are without questioning them, one of those facts is that Diamond is valuable, Diamonds are always a symbol of luxury, something that represents “your class”, something that requires hell of a balance to be bought, but did you know that diamonds worth only a fraction of the cost they sell for?

The diamond trade is essentially a monopoly with one company, DeBeers controlling the vast majority of the world’s diamonds. They even don’t hesitate in holding back vast quantities of diamonds each year and paying billions of dollars to other diamond traders and miners just to ensure the consumer market doesn’t get flooded with this gem, otherwise it will lose its charm owing to the economic principle of “less worth of a thing that is in abundance”. The major investors in the diamond mines realized that they had no alternative but to merge their interests into a single entity that would be powerful enough to control production and perpetuate the illusion of scarcity of diamonds.

The Diamond business is the biggest example of how Marketing of a product can define and influence our perception towards it; the idea that it is a rare gem has earned it its value. It is not a coincidence that all famous Movie stars, Celebrities and even Queen wore a diamond, but it is a marketing or great marketing strategy of associating diamonds with glamour and exclusivity, promoting the diamond as one material object which can reflect, in a very personal way, a man’s success in life, association in the public’s mind of diamonds with romance, since young men buy over 90% of all engagement rings, it would be crucial to inculcate in them the idea that diamonds were a gift of love: the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love. Similarly, young women had to be encouraged to view diamonds as an integral part of any romantic courtship.

One can praise the professionalism of those involved in successful projection of Diamond, but on the other hand is it ethical to project something opposite to what it actually is?? And play with ignorance of masses?? Lying to somebody and disrespecting the essence of competition in a market by implying a monopoly?? But the most important lesson or question we may say that arises here are we stupid enough to be manipulated so easily???

The mobile phones, Laptops and Personal computers are a remarkable piece of engineering, your electronic luxuries contains tiny electronic circuits, and they couldn’t work without a mineral called Coltan.

Coltan (columbite–tantalite and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore. It is used primarily for the production of tantalum capacitors, used in many electronic devices. Many sources mention Coltan’s importance in the production of cell phones, but this is an oversimplification as tantalum capacitors are used in almost every kind of electronic device. The tech boom caused the price of Coltan to rocket to as high as US$600 per kilogram at one point, compared to a previous value of US$65 per kilogram. 80% of the world’s known Coltan supply is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which the UN says is subject to Highly organized and systematic exploitation.

Look inside your electronic devices!! There’s blood in it, the blood of Congolese who are dying in a terrible conflict.

A recent report by the UN has claimed that all the parties involved in the local civil war have been involved in the mining and sale of Coltan. One report suggested that the neighboring Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and their proxy militias are the primary exploiters of Coltan in the Congo. Rwandan army made US$250 million from selling Coltan in less than 18 months, although Rwanda and Uganda possess little or no Coltan, during the period of the war in the Congo, their exports escalated exponentially. Although, the United Nations in its reports on the Congo do not directly blame the multi-national corporations for the conflict in the Congo, it does say that these companies serve as The engine of the conflict in the DRC. Major United States players include: Cabot-Corporation, OM-Group, Eagle Wings Resources International, Kemet Electronics Corporation, Vishay Sprague etc. Once the Coltan is processed and converted to capacitors, it is then sold to companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Compaq, Alcatel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lucent, Ericsson and Sony for use in a wide assortment of everyday products ranging from cell phones to computer chips and game consoles etc.

The West’s demand for Coltan, used in mobile phones and computers, is funding the killings in Congo. Under the close watch of rebel militias, children as young as ten work the mines hunting for this black gold. Morally and ethically are we suppose to turn our eyes from this exploitation, my purpose of writing this article is not just to let you know what’s happening around in Congo, all what I want is that all of us (including me) should develop some empathy towards those who are suffering, imagine you and your family being harassed by some local armed militia men because you are sitting over a precious metal reserves, What on earth is your fault if those metal ores ended up beneath your living area, does this justifies your killing or harassment?? NO absolutely NO!!! No matter where you live and which community you belong to, we should raise our voices against this. Use Facebook, Twitter whatever it takes to increase awareness among your fellows. I tell you if we stop buying electronic products from those big companies just for a month it will be enough to force them to use legal meaning of extracting Coltan. Our Govt. at the same time too should take step in the light of UN resolution, pressuring these multinational firms in stopping illegal exploration of Coltan. As in the end it is uswho consume that has innocent blood in it!!!

Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna is a patriotic poem written in Urdu-Hindi by Ram Prasad Bismil, who was involved in the Indian Independence Movement during the British Raj period in India.

The poem was written as an ode to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement. It has also been associated with the younger generation of inter-war freedom fighters such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad. The difference these freedom fighters had with other mainstream freedom movement was a more extremist and violent approach for independence, incidents like Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918, and the Kakori conspiracy of 1925 against the british raj is speaking truth of their approach. Although non violent stance by Quaid-e-Azam M.Ali Jinnah & Mahatma Gandhi eventually led to the independance, the patriotism of these violent freedom fighters towards their country remain unquestionable. Their commitment and sincerity will never be forgotten, one thing more which people of british india would not forget is ” Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ” .

This Urdu Ghazal is written in Beher-E-Ramal/Masahif Musamman. This type of Beher in Urdu poetry was the favourite meter of Ram Prasad Bismil. He had written almost 35 ghazals in this meter.The Urdu arkan (formula of lyric) of Behar-E-Ramal (Mazahif Musamman) is Faailaatun, Faailaatun, Faailaatun, Faailun. In Hindi meter it is called Geetika Chhand/ Parivartan Ashtpadi whose Hindi sutra is Raajbhagaa, Raajbhagaa, Raajbhagaa, Raajbha. So the poem goes as:

سرفروشی کی تمنا اب ہمارے دل میں ہے دیکھنا ہے زور کتنا بازوئے قاتل میں ہے The desire for struggle is in our hearts We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy

وہ جِسم بھی کیا جِسم ہے جس میں نہ ہو خونِ جنون طوفانوں سے کیا لڑے جو کشتیِ ساحل میں ہے What is that body that does not have hot blood in it, How can a person conquer a Typhoon while sitting in a boat near the shore

سرفروشی کی تمنا اب ہمارے دل میں ہے دیکھنا ہے زور کتنا بازوئے قاتل میں ہے The desire for struggle is in our hearts, We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy

The devotion and commitment towards the mother Nation is visible in each single word of the poem. No doubt the poem played an important role in provoking patriotism in ones heart it is indeed a speaking example of “greatness” that one can achieve through his pen!!!

The Gateway to Pakistan: Karachi was a capital of Pakistan from 1947 till 1958. Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and financial center of Pakistan. The city has an estimated population of 21 million people as of April 2012, It is the most populous city in the country, the world’s 3rd largest city in terms of population by city proper and also the 11th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan’s centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan’s largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a hub of higher education in South Asia and the Muslim world. The city is ranked as a “Beta world City” means it plays an important role in the global economic structure.

The city with all his charm and elegance has not just attracted Businessmen engineers, Doctors Etc but unfortunately chaos too!!!

According to human rights commission of Pakistan 1,715 people died in 2012 alone, owing to Ethnic, Sectarian and Politically linked violence.

Ethnic killing dates back to the creation of Pakistan when a large number of Urdu speaking Muhajirs migrated to Pakistan from British India, and get settled in the city of Karachi, this sparked violence between local Sindhi habitants and migrated muhajirs, that continues till today. Ironically those who stood for the creation of a Homeland for Muslims are now themselves asking fellow migrated Muslims to leave only because they represents some other culture, speaks some other Language, Cook some other food, This defies the whole idea of “Pakistan for all”. The govt. representatives which could have stopped bloodshed used it for their own political goals earning their vote bank on the basis of ethnicity. Karachi burns and burns till today only because she has different ethnic communities in her womb.

The grievance of the city of lights doesn’t end here as there is another issue too and that is Sectarianism.

Sectarianism seems to be the part of Pakistan since her inception, whether killing Ahmadis in 60s and 70s or among Shia and Sunnis till today. Karachi is home to quite a number of Shia Muslim communities and majority Sunnis. The Iranian backed Shia militant organization and Saudis backed Sunni organization often kills each other’s members and leaders not realizing the fact that their financers are using Karachi and Pakistan in whole as a battle ground to score their religious differences and interpretations. Iranian Revolution in 1979 worsened the situation more as it provoked the desire of some individuals in Shia community to have more say in government policies. Backed financially and morally by Iran, organization like “tehreek-e-nifaz-e-fiqh-jafaria” (Shia-law implementation movement) came into existence. To counter the growing influence of Shi’ism and indirectly Iran in Pakistan, Saudis channeled their support through Sunni govt. under Zia-ul-haq in creation of Sunni Militant Organization Lashkar e-jhangvi. That to date kills each other in the name of Religion. Again the problem which could have been solved through dialog was let on itself resulting in hundreds of bodies from both sides. One can not in any circumstance justify the killing of another sect only because their beliefs are different from yours!!

The third category of killing is totally political; Karachi due to its diverse ethnicity represents different political parties too. MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) the now ruling party in Karachi was founded to protect the rights of Urdu Speaking muhajirs, PPP ( Pakistan People Party ) on other hand enjoys support from Sindhi speaking community, there is one more party that claims to safeguard Pashtun community Rights named ANP (Awami National Party ). Now all of these parties are eyeing on Karachi to turn it into their stronghold and flush the support of other party.This category of killing is one can say a subset of ethnic killing but with a political motive behind. In order to achieve political upper hand these parties sometimes use local militant gangs to promote their ideology, which in the case of PPP doesn’t worked well as it is now fighting the group it created because the gang has withdrawn its support to PPP in lyari district.

There are incidents where target killings were neither politically, religiously or ethnically motivated rather the killer wants to settle his personal score with the victim. And a city where thousands got killed, personal revenges like these were counted among political or religious reasons. Letting a common person to settle his revenge and never got caught as police will not register a FIR under Political religious or ethnical reasons.

The killing and anarchy of this caliber requires a tough action. In my view the situation has gone beyond dialogue Intelligence agencies will have to play their part in stopping external and internal support and full military style operation is necessary to disarm the people first and then ask them to come for dialogue but disarm them first!! Otherwise asking heavily armed people for dialogue will get us nowhere.

Karachi is burning and will continue to burn until tough Decision were not taken. May Allah Bless us all with eternal peace. Amen!!

Uncle Sam has always been accused of Being a “One night Stander”, and his past relation with countries like Pakistan, Iraq and many other Asian and African states justify this claim. But one nation whom uncle Sam has accepted as his bride till Rapture is no doubt…. Ladies & Gentleman …. The Israel !!!

Do you accept Israel as your bride till God tear apart this universe….??? asked the father!!! I do … I do… I do…!! replied smiling uncle Sam.

Since then the pro zionist lobby has tried its level best to keep this relation intact either through AIPAC or by any other means of donations !!!Anyhow Israel is right in not disappointing her bridegroom; uncle sam .. I mean who don’t want the super power to back it and save it from sanctions and Isolation.

“Two pots placed together will someday collide”

And that is what happened during Obama Re-election campaign , whereby Mr. bibi aka Netanyahu gambles on Mr. Mormon aka Mitt Romney…… but the gamble failed….. and white house welcomed Mr. not white aka Obama again for 4 years terms. Now Obama will not forget whom netanyahu supported during elections, and as a pay back he might don’t visit Tel aviv in near future!!

But elections in the promised land has brought centrist in the knesset too (Surely something that Uncle Sam wanted) along with netanyahu for his second term!!!

Anyhow what all are eyeing at is whether the marriage is in its rough time or does the new government in White house and new members of Knesset will patch thing quickly. As they have a lot of issues waiting for them to be discussed which include Ahmadinejad’s atomic bomb and new settlements in E1 west bank.